Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. decreased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,585 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,494 shares during the quarter. Archer-Daniels-Midland makes up 1.0% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $4,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE ADM traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,678,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,226. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $44.92 and a 12 month high of $66.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.98. The company has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.